Published 05:53 IST, June 8th 2020
UK PM Johnson claims anti-racism protests have been 'subverted by thuggery'
Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson said that the protests across England against racial inequality and systemic racism have been hijacked by thugs.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson on Sunday said that the protests across England against racial inequality and systemic racism, sparked by the death of George Floyd, have been hijacked by thugs. Boris Johnson’s remark came after several officers were injured during the protests. He took to Twitter and said that the violence seen in these protests went completely against the cause that the movement claimed to stand for.
Previously, the UK’s Prime Minister had made it clear that people have a right to protest racism and police brutality peacefully, but the protesters do not have the right to attack the police.
Churchill statue vandalized
The statue of one of Britain's most renowned leader Winston Churchill was vandalized again when demonstrators of the Black Lives Matter protest took over the park that housed the statue on Sunday. The same statue was defaced on June 6, which was the 76th anniversary of D-Day. D-Day marks that historical turning point of World War II when the allied forces, partially led by Winston Churchill, landed in Normandy.
Several reports have indicated that the demonstrators scrawled "was a racist" the base of the memorial in Parliament Square as thousands descended on London for another protest over George Floyd's death. They reportedly also jeered “Churchill was a racist” and “Boris (Johnson) is a racist”.
A Black Lives Matter sign was reportedly strapped to the belly of the statue.
The same statue was targeted by protesters on June 6 when the words ‘ACAB’ was spray-painted on the statue using neon green graffiti. ‘ACAB’ is an acronym referring to cops in a derogatory manner. The perpetrators behind the vandalism are yet to be identified.
Global movement against racism
The London protests against racial inequality and systemic racism were a small part of a larger global movement sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in police custody on May 25. In a video of the Floyd arrest that surfaced and is spreading across the internet, the primary accused, former officer Derek Chauvin can be seen planting his knee on George Floyd’s neck and keeping it there for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and thereby killing him.
Derek Chauvin has been arrested and charged. The three other officers who helped subdue Floyd along with Derek have also been fired and charged.
Updated 05:53 IST, June 8th 2020